Dog Obstacle Competition Judging

No competitor shall impugn the decision of the judge whose decisions are final.

1  General
The aim is to let the dog negotiate the course correctly and within the SCT. The SCT, however, is only a reference and speed should not be the main criteria.An agility course is about skill, not about speed.
In case of dogs finishing equal, the dog with the least amount of faults on the course should be favoured. The time will be taken into consideration only when the total faults are the same.

If, by chance, the total faults (course + time faults) are exactly the same the judge can run off the equal dogs.

2  Faults
Faults applied are:

• Faults incurred for failure to negotiate the course correctly
• Faults incurred for failure to complete the course within the SCT

Faults
a)  Exceeding the SCT: a single fault per second.
b)  General:

The handler must not pass between the poles that mark the start and/or the finish or he will be faulted (5 faults), also the time will start as the handler crosses the start line.

A handler who gains an advantage by touching his dog will be faulted - 5 faults each time it occurs.

A handler who deliberately touches an obstacle will be faulted - 5 faults each time it occurs.

c)  Faults on the course:

All course faults are in units of five (5 faults)

Knockdowns:
It is a fault each time any part of any obstacle is knocked down, until the dog has cleared the next obstacle.

Refusals:
Will be faulted with a refusal: a dog that stops in front of an obstacle or a dog that stops on the course. A dog that runs out or runs by an obstacle, jumps between the tyre and the frame or walks through the long jump. A dog that puts its head or a paw in a tunnel and comes back out again.

Contact area:

On the A-frame, dog walk and see-saw the dog must touch the up as well as the down contact with at least one paw. Failure to do so: 5 faults each time it occurs.

Refusals must be corrected, failure to do so will result in elimination.

The same applies to the weaving poles, where mistakes must be corrected immediately.

Other faults: knockdowns or missing a contact point: the dog will be penalised but it continues its run.

d)  Marking on specific obstacles:

Table
There will be a 5 second wait on the table with the dog in any position, which may be changed during the wait. The count will start as soon as the dog is on the table.

If the dog leaves the table before the count is finished and the signal from the judge, it will be penalized with a fault (5 faults) and will have to get back on the table where the count is restarted. Failure to do so will result in elimination on the next obstacle

The dog can get on to the table from three sides: A, B and C. If the dog passes the table and jumps on from side D, it will be penalised with a refusal (5 faults) but will not be eliminated for taking an obstacle from the wrong side.

It is a fault if the dog slips off the table (5 faults) and it will have to get back on the table (from any side) where the count is restarted. A dog that runs under the table will be penalized with a refusal (5 faults).

A handler who starts the electronic countdown will be eliminated.